The latest political food fight is coming animal-style. Calls for a boycott of In-N-Out Burger circulated on Twitter on Thursday, Aug. 30 following news of the Irvine-based company’s $25,000 donation to the California Republican Party.

The Aug. 27 donation isn’t the first political donation by the iconic burger chain. A year ago, the company gave $30,000 to the state GOP, and state campaign finance records show other corporate donations to the California Restaurant Association PAC, which promotes the interests of restaurant owners, and the Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy PAC, which advocates for, among others, some Democrats.

In an emailed statement, In-N-Out Executive Vice President Arnie Wensinger said: “In 2018, In-N-Out Burger has made equal contributions to both Democratic and Republican political action committees in the state of California. For years, In-N-Out Burger has supported lawmakers who, regardless of political affiliation, promote policies that strengthen California and allow us to continue operating with the values of providing strong pay and great benefits for our associates.”

“It is actually far more important to In-N-Out and our foundations to support our communities by contributing millions of dollars to hundreds of organizations in California to prevent child abuse, human trafficking, and substance addiction.

“We have been fortunate to do business in this great state for almost 70 years,” Wensinger added. “While it is unfortunate that our contributions to support both political parties in California has caused concern with some groups, we believe that bipartisan support is a fair and consistent approach that best serves the interests of our company and all of our customers.”

But the latest donation drew strong reactions on the Twittersphere, where the hashtag #boycottInNOut spread.

Et tu In-N-Out? Tens of thousands of dollars donated to the California Republican Party… it’s time to #BoycottInNOut – let Trump and his cronies support these creeps… perhaps animal style!https://t.co/9zkdFaG5CJ

Will no longer be enjoying @innoutburger 🙁 well it was good while it lasted. But considering I prefer businesses that align with my values, In N Out fell significantly short. @GOP doesn’t deserve a DIME. Good thing there’s @habit_burger! #BoycottInNOut#GOP

California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte said: “Like most businesses, In-N-Out contributes to candidates and parties that they think are helpful to creating jobs in California.

“The moderate Democrat caucus in the state legislature has gotten more money from In-N-Out than the California Republican Party,” Brulte said. “So maybe the chairman of the Democratic Party should ask his party’s moderate Democrat caucus to give the In-N-Out money back before he starts a boycott campaign predicated on misinformation.”

Jeff Horseman got into journalism because he liked to write and stunk at math. He grew up in Vermont and he honed his interviewing skills as a supermarket cashier by asking Bernie Sanders “Paper or plastic?” After graduating from Syracuse University in 1999, Jeff began his journalistic odyssey at The Watertown Daily Times in upstate New York, where he impressed then-U.S. Senate candidate Hillary Clinton so much she called him “John” at the end of an interview. From there, he went to Annapolis, Maryland, where he covered city, county and state government at The Capital newspaper before love and the quest for snowless winters took him in 2007 to Southern California, where he started out covering Temecula for The Press-Enterprise. Today, Jeff writes about Riverside County government and regional politics. Along the way, Jeff has covered wildfires, a tropical storm, 9/11 and the Dec. 2 terror attack in San Bernardino. If you have a question or story idea about politics or the inner workings of government, please let Jeff know. He’ll do his best to answer, even if it involves a little math.